Passion or Love
by jylener22
Summary: Passion exists in the moment and quickly dies away as its energy expires, while love burns steadily and constantly even through the darkest night. There is a fine line between these two emotions and once that line is crossed a person, not to mention a relationship, will be forever changed.
1. Prologue

Passion or Love?

"Where to sir?"

The cabby waited for a few moments for a reply and when he heard nothing, the man turned his head as much as his neck would allow as he asked, "Sir? Where're you heading?"

This time, the cabby's question was answered with an address. Normally a pretty chatty guy, the cabby could somehow sense that his passenger would prefer to be left alone for the time, so the cab driver nodded his head and pulled out into traffic.

The man in the backseat looked for all the world as if he was completely calm, composed and naturally charming, but if someone who knew him well had been sitting next to him, they would have seen many confused and riotous emotions swirling within his deep brown eyes.

Out of all the people he might have expected to see at that theater watching that performance…why did it have to be her? He had only just gotten himself so deeply immersed in work that thoughts of her had nearly stopped surfacing at all times of the day.

Less than a year ago, she had broken his heart. While it was extremely difficult for him to admit, he, who was the man every decent and indecent woman wanted to 'conquer', who had been engaged to the most beautiful, wealthy and powerful woman in America, he had given his heart to her unreservedly. And in exchange, he had thought that he would receive hers in return…but no, that apparently wasn't to be.

Thinking back, he had noticed her sitting with several other people and right next to her was…that man. The man she had said she would leave so that they could be together, but it seemed as though that man had somehow convinced her not to leave him. And so that was that.

Propping his elbow against the window, he rested his chin in his palm as he stared vacantly out at the dark and rainy scenery. Eyes half-closed, he finally allowed himself to delve deeper into his memory and take himself back to the first time he had met her. Maybe if he sifted through everything that he remembered, he might be able to figure out how she had been able to act so well. How she had been able to convince him that she was falling in love…and how he had managed to lose his heart to her so completely.

**Author's Note:**

This is my first story for AizenxOrihime to be the end couple and it is dedicated to my dear friend Sariniste as well as Child of the Ashes and Boho over on . You guys are wonderful supporters and an inspiration for me.

Now for the story itself, so as not to give away too much, all I will say is it is based off a movie my mom likes to watch every Christmas as she wraps presents. If you like old, classic movies, then you will probably figure out where I got the idea for this story. Just like with Music of Angels, I'm not too worried about keeping it completely in line with the movie plotline, so it should be fun to add in a few twists here and there.

This is going to be something of a Christmas story, but I'm starting it now because I know that with how I've been so lazy lately, it's going to take me all of two months to finish this less than ten chapter story (at least hopefully) and still try and work on my other stories as well as an Ichihime story for the holidays.

Any questions, just feel free to drop me a line! :)


	2. Unexpected Beginnings

Passion or Love?

Month of May about a year previously on the European cruise ship, _Athena_…

"Is that…is that who I think it is?"

"Who? Where?"

"Over there! Leaning against the railing. Is that…"

"Why, I think…yes, I think you're right. It must be him!"

"C'mon! It just so happens that I have a newspaper with his picture on it. Let's see if we can get him to sign it."

"Oh! That would be wonderful! What a story to tell back home!"

From his spot, Sosuke Aizen could hear every word the two empty-headed and star-struck girls were saying. As he heard them approach, he resolutely forced his annoyance into the deep recesses of his psyche for the moment as it wouldn't do for the fiancé of one of the world's most eligible debutantes to have acted boorishly towards anyone on his voyage over to America. Such were the perks and drawbacks of being integrated into such a high class of society. No matter where you go in the world, someone is bound to know you and you will be expected to act in a certain way.

As long as he possibly could, Aizen remained in his calm and composed attitude, looking out over the late afternoon horizon, but he had to give up the act when he heard one of the female voices ask, "Excuse me, sir?"

Turning his head and meeting the gaze of a girl evidently trying to be mistaken for a full-grown woman, he said in a polite, low tone, "Yes? How may I help you?"

The heavily rouged cheeks flushed even more as the girl tried to pull herself together under the weight of Aizen's signature, smoldering gaze and she answered, "Well, my friend and I couldn't help but notice you standing over here and realized that you were the," she put extra emphasis on the word, "Sosuke Aizen and so we came over here to ask you to sign this picture of yours in the newspaper for us."

Taking the newspaper from the girl's outstretched hand, Aizen saw that it was the most recent edition where there was a portrait of him and of his fiancée side by side. Smirking down at the newspaper, Aizen couldn't help the slight bit of satisfaction he felt over just how good he looked in the picture and how these girls were acting around him. While he usually preferred the admiration of grown women who knew exactly what they were getting into, Aizen would allow himself to bask in whatever veneration was bestowed upon him.

However, while that may be the case, Aizen didn't really feel like having to put up with these cheeky, spoiled and immature females for the whole trip without allowing himself some small act of revenge. An idea came to him and Aizen reached into his breast pocket for a pen as he smiled down at the girls, who seemed hardly able to contain their annoying, girlish giggles of delight.

Uncapping the pen, Aizen wrote in beautiful, almost calligraphic, letters, "Pour deux jolies petites filles, qui ont mauvaises manières et pensent trop d'eux-mêmes. Sosuke Aizen."

Handing the newspaper back to the first girl, she took it, looked at what he had written and all but squealed out, "Oh, Mr. Aizen! Your handwriting is positively divine! And you wrote something to us in French!"

Looking over her friend's shoulder, the second girl squinted at the writing and asked, "He did at that, but what did he say?"

Snapping her head around to glare at her friend, the first girl replied, "What does it matter? It's in French and French is one of the romance languages, so it must be something just as divine as Mr. Aizen."

Turning back to bat her eyes in what she thought was a coy and flirtatious gesture, the first girl asked in a sugary sweet tone, "Isn't that right, Mr. Aizen?"

Allowing his grin to quirk up slightly at the corners, Aizen bowed his head in acknowledgement as he said carefully, "I wrote what I felt best fitted the occasion of our meeting here."

Aizen was sure the first girl had taken that as an invitation to try and strengthen whatever hold she believed she had over him, when suddenly another female voice cried out from behind him, "Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! Please come back! Oh, please come back!"

The decibel level and amount of desperation in the female's tone caused Aizen to immediately turn his head so as to ascertain the cause of such pleas. He fully expected to a female figure rushing in some direction, but his eyes widened as he discovered that a young woman was barreling straight towards him with her arms outstretched and her hands clasping frantically at the empty air as she ran.

In the moments before the young woman was to crash into him, several thoughts passed through his mind in quick succession as he tried to make sense of what was happening. From her attitude and cries, it seemed as though she was trying to stop someone from leaving her. Typical story. Some young man must have just broken up with her and she was hysterical about it. The problem with that hypothesis was that there was no man whom she was chasing and if the direction of her run were any indication, she seemed to think he was the one who was dumping her.

With that explanation shoved aside, Aizen was about to wrack his brain for another idea when something white and fluttering caught his attention. Acting instinctively, Aizen snapped his long arm over the rail and deftly caught the object between his fingers. The next instant, Aizen was forced to engage the use of his other arm when the young woman went crashing into the railing and nearly jackknifed into the sea below.

Upon impact, Aizen heard the air whoosh out of the young woman's lungs in a very painful manner and he heard himself asking in a concerned tone, "Are you all right, Miss?"

Gulping a few quick breaths, the young woman reached out a hand towards the object Aizen was still gripping between his fingers as she gasped out, "My…friend's…you…saved…thank…" after which, her eyes rolled back in her head and Aizen wasted no time in sweeping her into his arms before she collapsed onto the deck.

Before Aizen could take a single step, a porter came running around the corner, saw Aizen standing there with the young woman in his arms and then stammered out as he gestured frantically, "M-M-Miss Inoue! This way! Bring her this way, Sir, please. Her cabin's this way."

As he walked away, for the briefest moment, Aizen allowed himself a little smirk of amusement as he thought about how this young woman in his arms had just inadvertently 'saved' him from those two girls. Situation being what it was, everyone ended up happy as far as he could see. He got to get away while those two could just stand there and prattle on about how strong and handsome and chivalrous he was.

Next thing he knew, the porter was opening a cabin door and ushering him inside. Stepping over the threshold, Aizen looked about for a moment before he noticed a couch over to his left and he carefully laid the young woman down. As he did so, Aizen seemed to hear the porter say something about fetching the ship's doctor, but at this point Aizen found himself getting his first really good look at the young woman in question.

She was simply dressed in a white sundress decorated with bright yellow polka dots and white pumps with almost no heel. Her hair was a stunning shade of light brown mixed with various shades of red and blonde so that it almost could be considered auburn, but then again not, and against all rules of fashion, this young woman seemed to prefer to allow almost all her hair to hang loosely down her back. It was so long that it reached her waist and looked silky and well cared for.

After taking in her clothed appearance (noting especially that she had an impeccable figure), Aizen noted with some surprise and admiration that she wore little to no make-up. The barest amount of foundation followed by just a hint of rouge to the cheeks and a little touch-up around the eyes, but from what Aizen could tell it was masterfully applied so that it added to her natural beauty rather than trying to make herself look more beautiful than she really was. So many times, Aizen had seen women with so much make-up applied that he had cringed inwardly thinking about what they might look like without it.

Aizen's observations were disrupted when he saw the young woman's forehead crinkle slightly as she began to stir. Deciding that it would be better for her to wake up fully before realizing that she had company, Aizen sat perfectly still while her eyelids opened slowly and she blinked a few times up at the ceiling before beginning to look around.

When her eyes lighted on him, she frowned slightly in confusion but said politely, "Hello."

Smirking down at her, Aizen replied in a low, pleasant tone, "Hello there. Good to see you doing better."

She seemed about ready to ask something else when Aizen decided to try something and held up the picture and immediately the young woman's eyes flooded with understanding, her face flushed violently and she said hurriedly, "I'm so sorry to have bothered you in such an embarrassing way, but the picture flew out of my hands all of a sudden and I couldn't think of anything else to do but go chasing after it because it's the only copy of that picture that exists and I've had it for so many years because it is of my friends and I from back when we were children growing up together in the same neighborhood and losing that picture would be…would be…would be…"

Giving her an understanding grin, Aizen prompted, "Detrimental? Catastrophic? Unthinkable?"

Turning the picture over, Aizen saw a group of young children posing together for the picture. For some reason, Aizen was easily able to pick out the younger version of the young woman before him by the shape of her face and the exuberance of her smile. On either side of her were two girls, both with short, dark hair and similar grins lighting up their features. The main difference between the two was where one had a long piece of hair dangling between her eyes, the others hair seemed to stand on end like the boy's hair was next to her. There were three other boys in the picture with varying degrees of smiles, smirks and grins directed at the camera, but the entire group seemed to be very comfortable around one another.

Instead of snatching the picture away from his grasp, the young woman gently took hold of one side so that she could look at it as well and then pointed to each figure and introduced them, "Right there is Rukia and standing next to her is Renji. Then there's Chad and Uryu off to that side. I'm standing in the middle right there and there's Tatsuki standing next to Ichigo."

Nodding his head in understanding, Aizen said, "A very good picture and you all look very happy, but…"

When his voice trailed off, the young woman looked up at him with another slight frown of confusion, "But what?"

Pointing to each figure in turn, Aizen said, "You've showed me who Rukia, Renji, Chad, Uryu, Tatsuki and Ichigo are," looking into her eyes as he pointed to the little girl in the middle, "but you didn't tell me her name."

Giving Aizen a small smile, she replied quietly, "Orihime. Orihime Inoue."


	3. Becoming Acquainted

Over the next few days of the voyage, even though Aizen gave the excuse that he was only escorting Miss Inoue everywhere because he wanted to be sure she didn't injure herself again, he really just wanted to get to know the fascinating young woman better.

The only other woman Aizen had ever come across who was as intelligent and interesting as she was beautiful was his own fiancée, Tia Halibel. However, while Tia had mastered the art of a sophisticated, smooth and rather aloof demeanor, Orihime was open, kind and expressive with anyone and everyone who crossed her path.

While carrying on a conversation with (what Aizen considered to be) tiresome, nosy old maids, Orihime looked and sounded genuinely interested to hear their stories about themselves and loved ones. On the other hand, when it came to gossip about other passengers on the ship or celebrities, Orihime would sit back quietly and simply listen until the subject was changed.

Little by little, Aizen was able to pick up small tidbits about Orihime. Her brother had passed away when she was still a young girl and she had been raised by the Arisawa family. Orihime's aunt agreed to an arrangement where Orihime could remain at the Arisawa home, but the aunt would be named as Orihime's legal guardian on all official documents because she would send money to the Arisawa's to help with the cost of raising another child. Orihime had been the maid of honor at two of her friend's weddings, first when Rukia had married Renji and again when Tatsuki had married Ichigo.

When Orihime had mentioned Tatsuki marrying Ichigo, Aizen had heard Orihime's voice falter slightly over the young man's name, which made Aizen suspect that there had been some unrequited feelings there. On the one hand, Aizen wanted to call this Ichigo person a blithering idiot for overlooking the affections of such a marvelous young woman, while on the other hand Aizen thought that the young fool could keep his new wife while Aizen was free to become acquainted with Orihime without restraint.

Also, Aizen learned that Orihime had come on this voyage in order to visit her aunt in Barcelona, who had moved there for her health some time ago. In fact, Orihime had met her aunt only once, on the day she graduated from high school. Her aunt had come to see how Orihime was getting along and to make sure she was preparing for the next stage in life, which Orihime had decided would be getting a job at a local bakery.

With her eyes shining as brilliantly as her smile, Orihime said, "There have been so many wonderful people in my life who have been so kind and loving to me…I just wouldn't be the person I am today without each and every one of them."

Looking down at her hands, Orihime's voice softened as she said, "Sometimes I wonder how each one of them can possibly fit within my heart, but I couldn't imagine life without any one of them."

And that was Orihime Inoue in a nutshell. Living out the saying 'It is far better to give than to receive', which should have made Aizen want to move on to another conquest…only he didn't. Probably because he hadn't truly conquered her.

While he had gotten to know bits and pieces about her and understood all about her personality type from observing her, he was still only an acquaintance. He wasn't someone special to her. He wasn't someone she treasured in her heart…at least not yet. And he had all the rest of the voyage to try and figure out if that was something he wanted to do. Aizen had no doubt that he could do it if he really put his mind to it, so he decided to just take things one step at a time.

The first thing was to make sure he reserved a table for the two of them to share at dinnertime every evening. In her innocence, Orihime never noticed all the jealous and shocked glances sent her way on the first night they shared dinner together. Out of the corner of his eye, Aizen also saw a few envious young men glare daggers at him for snatching up the most effortlessly beautiful women on the entire ship.

During dinner, he made sure to keep the conversation engaging and yet light. While Aizen doubted Orihime would catch on if he began 'smooth talking' her, there was a possibility that someone nosy-busybody from another table might enlighten the innocent young woman, so Aizen thought it best not to give the masses any additional gossip to chew on.

On the day they arrived at Barcelona, Aizen graciously accepted Orihime's invitation to come and visit her aunt.

"I don't think she'll mind having one extra guest," Orihime said with a smile before she frowned slightly and said more to herself, "At least, I hope she doesn't mind. And on such short notice…"

When her voice trailed away, Aizen decided to pull her back from whatever she was imagining as he said, "How about this? You go and talk to your aunt while I wait outside and carefully broach the subject with her. If she doesn't seem put off at having another guest, then you come out and get me. If she wishes to only see you, then I will leave after a few minutes and find something else to do in Barcelona. Sound like a plan?"

Her usual smile returning, Orihime nodded and said, "That's a great idea. All right, we'll do that then."

The trip to the house was pleasant, with Aizen pointing out interesting buildings with historical significance, but mostly Orihime 'oohing' and 'ahhing' over the quaint houses, gardens, town squares, colors, store fronts, bakery shops and smells of food in the air. All too soon, they arrived at the house and Orihime got out of the cab, knocked on the front door and was soon shown inside. Aizen waited out in the cab for a grand total of forty-five seconds before Orihime opened the door and came over with a beaming smile.

Getting out of the cab and paying the driver, Aizen then turned to Orihime and said, "So, I guess your aunt didn't mind at all."

Shaking her head and linking her arm through Aizen's, Orihime led him towards the front door as she said excitedly, "Aunt Kaoru was rather surprised at first to hear that I had made a friend on the voyage, but then she smiled and said that she would like to meet you herself."

With a mock expression of fear, Aizen said hesitantly, "But I don't think I'm ready to meet your family yet. It's much too soon for that kind of thing."

At first Orihime looked extremely puzzled, then her eyes lit up with understanding and she laughed as she replied, "Oh, Aunt Kaoru can seem stern at times, but she's also such a dear, sweet thing. I'm sure you'll love her."

Grinning at Orihime's innocent and mistaken interpretation of his joke, Aizen allowed himself to be led down a short hallway into a plain yet tastefully arranged and decorated parlour. Sitting with very correct posture, delicately clasped hands and properly crossed ankles sat a middle-aged woman who could have passed for Orihime's mother. They both had the same shade of gray in their eyes, only the aunt's were slightly harder to read than Orihime's. Their faces were shaped the same and their hair was of the same kind of texture. The only real difference Aizen could see between them was the stark contrast between Orihime's easily read personality and Aunt Kaoru's more reserved one.

Disengaging her arm from Aizen's, Orihime stepped over to her aunt's side as she said, "Aunt Kaoru, may I introduce you to Mr. Sosuke Aizen? He is the friend from the ship I was talking to you about. Mr. Aizen, this is my Aunt Kaoru, whom I have also talked to you about."

Stepping forward to take her proffered hand, Aizen said politely, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

Inclining her head with a small smile, she replied, "I suppose so. You may call me Ms. Kaoru."

Turning her attention to Orihime, Ms. Kaoru said, "If you go into the kitchen, you'll see all the tea things set out just waiting to be assembled. Would you mind…"

"Not at all, Aunt Kaoru!" Orihime said, shaking her head vigorously, "Just leave it to me!" and with that she went in a borderline skipping way out of the room humming to herself.

Shaking his head in amusement, Aizen heard Ms. Kaoru say, "Please, have a seat, Mr. Aizen," which he promptly did before turning his attention back to the woman sitting opposite him.

For a few moments, Ms. Kaoru looked towards the doorway through which Orihime had passed before she asked, "So, Mr. Aizen, how exactly did you happen to meet my niece?"

Briefly, Aizen outlined their initial meeting followed by a few details on how they had been getting to know each other the past few days on the ship.

"And I must say, Ms. Kaoru, that I don't think I've ever met someone as engaging or intriguing as your niece. She is not only beautiful, but intelligent and compassionate as well."

With a knowing smile, Ms. Kaoru said, "She is also quite an innocent young woman."

Inclining his head, Aizen said, "Yes, I have noticed that about her as well, which only adds to all that I find fascinating about her."

"Fascinating, eh?" asked Ms. Kaoru, "Is that the way you see my niece? As an interesting person to simply observe? Or do you see her as something else?"

Leaning forward slightly, Ms. Kaoru said in a matter-of-fact tone, "My niece may not read very many newspapers and keep up with gossip or those kinds of things, but I do, Mr. Aizen. While I don't know much more than what the papers have told me and what few things I've been able to observe today, I do know that you are engaged to be married to a wealthy, beautiful and powerful woman."

Taking a deep breath and looking straight into Aizen's eyes, she continued, "I'm not going to try and 'scare you off' or anything like that because I doubt there's anything an old woman like me could do to intimidate someone of your power and resources. However, I hope you will listen to me as someone who has the best interest of her niece and only living relative at heart.

"Doubtless at some point Orihime has mentioned her six closest friends and how four of them got married to each other. I also would not be surprised if you managed to piece together that Orihime got a little torn up over her friend Ichigo falling in love with the girl she loved better than a sister."

Looking down at her hands, Ms. Kaoru said, "I was never really a part of Orihime's life and only saw her on the day she graduated, but, like you, I only had to take one look at her to realize exactly what kind of a girl she was and in that moment I loved her like a daughter and wished that I had actually moved her so that she could live with me. However, on the other hand, Orihime probably wouldn't be the same girl she is if she would have moved, so things worked out for the best."

Raising her gaze once again, she said, "Anyway, on the day of her graduation, it didn't take me long to figure out that this Ichigo boy had asked to begin courting Tatsuki. So here she is on what should be a joyous day and one where she can celebrate her friends' accomplishments as well and she's trying to fight back her tears."

With a small smile, Ms. Kaoru reminisced, "I'll say one thing for Tatsuki and Rukia, they are two of the best girls Orihime could have for friends. They had known from the beginning about Orihime's feelings for this boy and when it became clear that he didn't know anything about them and that he wasn't going to return them, those girls were right there beside her, holding and comforting her."

Shaking her head slightly, Ms. Kaoru said, "As ridiculous as this might sound, my niece does not do things by halves. When she commits to something, she will work herself to the bone to make sure it is done on time. When I heard that she loved that boy, I knew that it was not just a passing fancy or a simple case of a 'boy-crazy crush'. She really and truly had fallen in love with him and so when he gave his heart away to someone else…it tore her up inside for a long time. However, for the sake of her friend, Orihime somehow managed to keep it hidden well enough and move on as quickly as she possibly could."

In a voice barely above a whisper, Ms. Kaoru finished, "Whatever your intentions are, Mr. Aizen, I simply ask you to tread carefully. Orihime's heart has been torn apart more times than a young woman her age should have been. For the sake of one who loves her dearly, please…please…"

Before he could stop himself, Aizen felt himself reach across the table to grasp the woman's hands between his own as he said sincerely, "I understand."

Later on, Aizen would think back and wonder what had caused him to react in that way. Maybe he had been caught up in the moment and simply done and said the first thing that occurred to him. Maybe he had thought it would be the best way to continue playing his role in front of the aunt. No matter the reason, later Aizen would look back on that moment as one of the major turning points in his relationship with Orihime.


End file.
